Giving Abundantly

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John Walter, director of National Campaigns at American Bible Society, went to DRC again in May to review ABS's work there. What follows is an excerpt from his blog, which chronicles his trips to DRC.

Uttering the word “Congo” conjures a litany of horrors: ravaging militias, unspeakable violence against women and girls, boys abducted to work as slaves in mines or indoctrinated into a life of savagery. Throughout this hell, otherwise known as Eastern Congo, hundreds of 21st century Mother Teresas serve others.

I was privileged to meet a couple of these faces of Christ on a recent trip to the great lakes region of Africa. Mama Jeanne (pictured above) is one of them, a pastor's wife living on the edge of a knife in Goma.

Inside the churchyard, she cares for 80 to 100 children. It's hard to know exactly how many children she helps on any given day, but meeting her raised an inevitable question. I asked her: “How is it that one day you start taking care of children with no support, no resources, no rule of law, no glimmer of hope for your country?”

She asks a question in reply: “How can I not”?

She gives everything out of her abundant nothing: love, food, shelter, names, purpose, protection. I wonder how much more love the recipient feels from Mama Jeanne, who gives out of her abundant nothing, than from those of us who give out of our abundance.